The most surprising thing about prog rockers Kansas’ concert Saturday at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem was that this was the same band that played at Musikfest four years ago.

Kansas's Rich Williams, left, and David RagsdalePhotos by Abbie Drey/Special to The Morning Call

More than 35 years into its career, Kansas somehow found rejuvenation Saturday, playing a show that demonstrated rich orchestral playing and a revived intensity, and reminded the crowd of 1,014 how good its songs are.

Virtually everything about the concert was in direct contrast to Kansas’s August 2006 show. After opening with a seven-minute, very orchestral “Howling at the Moon,“ Kansas played 20 minutes of back-to-back hits with barely a break between them.

That was exactly the opposite of the Musikfest show, in which they were 25 minutes of plodding prog into the show before playing a hit.

Then, after playing “Point of Know Return,” a lovely, orchestrated “The Wall,” “Hold On” and “Dust in the Wind,” when Kansas did shift to its more progressive, orchestral works, it chose some great ones. “Song for America,” which got cheers at the mention of its title was far more energized, and a sweeping “Cheyenne Anthem” that was so well played, someone yelled “Yeah!” in the middle of it.

And on “Icarus,” singer Steve Walsh’s very worn voice (more about that later) was perhaps it’s best of the night, staying in his midrange.

Steve Walsh

But the highlight was a dramatic, seven-minute “Miracles Out of Nowhere” two-thirds of the way through. Kansas played it wonderfully, infusing the suite with brooding and urgency and even sensitivity that made it sound new. Walsh’s voice meshed touchingly with that of bassist Billy Geer.

Guitarist Rich Williams switched from electric to acoustic and back again, as he also did on “Song for America,” when his playing blended great with Walsh’s keyboard flourishes, and “Hold On.”

In short, they played it like it mattered – far different from their Musikfest show, when “Miracles” was reduced to a snippet in a medley. It was among five of the 2 songs – in a 95-minute show -- that got at least partial standing ovations Saturday.

What made the difference in the concerts is hard to pinpoint. Kansas has spent the past year playing shows with college orchestras, so perhaps they’ve rediscovered the music. It also probably was no coincidence that the group played literally half of “Leftoverture,” its breakthrough, best-selling album.

Walsh’s voice, so terribly ragged at Musikfest, still was well off what it was in its heyday, but the band now has compensated. Geer handled a good portion of the vocals, including nearly all of “Cheyenne Anthem” and much of “Song for America.” When Walsh did sing lead, he often didn’t reach for high notes, such as on “Point of Know Return” or “The Wall.”

Kansas’s staging Saturday also was far better. Dramatic lighting added to the show: On the lovely orchestrated “The Wall,” Walsh was bathed in blue light as he played the keyboard. Walsh also came to the front of the stage with just his mic to sing on “Portrait (He Knows) and “Dust in the Wind” – which nicely began with a long dramatic pause before Williams’ acoustic guitar started with the familiar notes.

David Ragsdale prowled the stage in theater black tails, adding his distinctive violin, but also playing guitar on a couple songs. The group again rarely addressed the crowd, but Geer twice said Pennsylvania was the group’s favorite state to play.

“You keep coming back," he said, "we’ll keep coming back.”

The main set ended abruptly, but the encore made up for it. They played a full, rich and urgent “Fight Fire with Fire" as the stage filled with smoke. And they tied that tight into the expected closer, “Carry on Wayward Son,” a great song that, ironically, was the most ragged of the night.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.